Chandigarh, November 14
Five educationists of the city earlier named for the UT State Award on the Teacher’s Day were present awards at a function held at Tagore Theatre, Sector 18, here today. Two teachers received commendation certificates at the function.

Principals of city schools, Ms Madhu Bahl of K.B. DAV School, Sector 7, a recipient of the CBSE National Teachers’ Award 2001 and the Rashtriya Gaurav Award-2002 along with a number of other awards under her belt, and Mr Sanjay Sardana of Manav Mangal School, Sector 21, were among those who received awards from the Advisor and Home Secretary, Mr R.S. Gujral, for distinguished service as teachers and successful administrators.

Ms Shelly Khanna, a lecturer at Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 18, Mr Dharamvir of Government High School, Sector 26, and Mr Gurcharan Singh Gill of Government Senior Seconadry School, Sector 33, were also given the state award, whereas Ms Hargurdeo Kaur Bhatia of Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 47, and Ms Madhu of Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 10, were given commendation certificates.

While addressing the teachers, Mr Gujral said they should become a role model for students. He said children were the future of the country and it was the responsibility of the teachers to make them responsible and civilized citizens. He congratulated the award-winning teachers and advised others to emulate them.

A colourful cultural programme was also presented by teachers of KB DAV School and government schools on the occasion. While teachers of KB DAV School gave a comparison of the traditional and modern schools, a qawali remembered India’s great leaders like Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. Others present at the function included the DPI (Schools), Mr D.S. Mangat, the DEO, Ms Rajesh Chaudhary, the Assistant Director Adult Education, Ms Sudesh
Kalra.

Chandigarh, November 14
As many as 900 children from Anganwari centres and schools being run in the slum areas in the vicinity were examined by a team of doctors at a health check up camp for children, organised by the UT Red Cross Society at the Government Girls High School, Sector 25, here today.

The camp was inaugurated by the Adviser to the UT Administrator, Mr Raminder Singh Gujral.

Medicines provided by the Chandigarh chemists association were distributed free of cost. A tooth brush and a tooth paste tube were given to each child visiting the camp and the same was sponsored by Pepsodent Limited.

Teams of doctors from the UT Health Department, GMCH, Sector 32, the Director Family Welfare and the Health Care India attended to the children. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Arun Kumar, the SDM(South), Mrs Madhvi Kataria, the
DPI (schools), Mr D.S. Mangat and the president of the Chandigarh Oil Mills Association, Mr Khandelia, were present on the occasion.

Chandigarh, November 14
Acting on the bail application moved by one of the accused, K.M Murlidhar, in the trafficking of girls to Bangalore case, the court has issued a notice to the police to file reply in the case for November 18. Earlier the three accused, Rakesh Batalvi, Baljit and Kuldeep, had filed the bail application in the case, which was dismissed by the UT Judicial Magistrate (First Class), Mr Sandeep K. Singla.

The police had arrested the five accused in the case. All accused were remanded in judicial custody by a local court and had been lodged in Model Jail, Burail. The statement of the six girls, who were recovered from Bangalore, had already been recorded before the UT Judicial Magistrate (First Class) in the case.
OC

Chandigarh, November 14
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today dismissed a petition filed by former Chairman of the Punjab Public Service Commission Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu challenging the recording of an approver’s statement by a Magistrate in a case against him.

In his petition, he claimed that the statement should have been recorded by the Special Judge for Vigilance cases. The Judge could not have delegated the powers.

Naya Gaon people
to get power

Taking up a petition filed by Naya Gaon residents, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the Punjab Government and the Punjab State Electricity Board to provide connections to the residents at a normal rate of security. The Bench also asked the respondents to charge normal rates per unit for power supply.

LIFESTYLE in India is undergoing a change, slowly but surely. And nothing illustrates it better than the growing demand for lifestyle vehicles like SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles ) and MUVs (Multi-Utility Vehicles).

SUVs are a rage in the developed, western countries where everybody seems to prefer a big vehicle which can operate not only in the city but also in the countryside where they like to go and spend the weekends. In India, however, the choice of a vehicle has remained confined till recently to a rather limited variety of vehicles, the most popular among them being the ubiquitous Maruti 800. It is only during the past few years that the Indian buyer is being offered a wider choice. But almost all of them are passenger cars.

Lifestyle vehicles have made their debut in India only in recent months. These include Tata Safari, Mohindra Scorpio, Suzuki Grand Vitara, Honda CVR, Mitusibishi Pajero, to name only a few. The latest to make its entry into this segment is Tata Safari’s petrol version which was unveiled in Chandigarh on Friday.

The petrol Tata Safari is priced at Rs 9.36 lakh (4x2) and Rs 10.22 lakh (4x4) and is obviously not for the common man. “It is meant for those in the niche segment who want to combine the comfort and luxury of a car with the ruggedness of an offroader”, said Mr Anupam Singh, Regional Manager (North), Tata Motors, in an interaction with TNS. Incidentally, Tata Safari is already being sold in European countries like England, Italy, Portugal and Spain where it is said to have drawn a good response.

“We realise that the market for such vehicles in India is still at a nascent stage. But it is developing,” says Mr Singh. “Thanks to the liberalisation of the economy and a growing middle class, a new segment has come up which does not mind spending to get the best out of life. We are offering them the best possible features in the vehicle at an affordable price. In comparison, foreign SUVs being sold in India are prohibitively priced”.

SUVs are also quite popular with the corporate sector where CEO’s with big companies like to travel by them. Another group of people who prefer SUVs are expatriates who were using them abroad before coming to India. In certain cities, industrialists have gone for them because they had to commute every day over roads full of potholes from their homes to factories located outside the city limits.

In the petrol version, some of the weak points, especially a sluggish pickup, noted in Tata Safari’s earlier versions, have been removed. It is powered by an indigenously developed 2.1 litre, 16 valve DOHC petrol engine delivering 135 PS at 5630 RPM. Besides the 4-valve per
cylinder, this petrol engine comes with advanced features such as twin cams, multi-point fuel injection, electronically controlled by a state of the art sophisticated engine management system and also boasts of hydraulic tappets, distributor-less ignition, known sensor, fuel cut-off sensor which cuts off fuel during deceleration, and even a fuel circuit inertia switch which cuts off fuel supply in case of accidents preventing the vehicle from becoming a fire hazard.

Chandigarh, November 14
City-based actor-director Sunil Babbar might be a contented man today. His exploration of human relationships, “Ants”, was there for all to see today. And what could be better than its national premiere being held at a local theatre.

The English feature film which Babbar shot with a small budget and in a short time has already won two international awards.

The all-exclusive Chandigarh cast and crew of what Babbar calls a comparative study of ants and human behaviour were introduced by the helmsman who dedicated his foray into the factory of dreams to the audience of his city.

While Babbar and Chandigarh-based actress Karishma Randeva play the lead roles, others in the cast include his wife, Bharati, who has also written the story, the screenplay and the dialogues.

The 91-minute movie will be released at Nandan theatre in Kolkata on November 26 and in other parts of the country next month.

I always wanted to be a dress designer. As a child, I used to design clothes for my doll. Now , I am learning to design clothes for adults.

My father is in army. He wanted me to join some computer course. But I insisted on joining a course in fashion designing. I feel that there is a tremendous scope of growth in this sector. With the opening up of the economy and expansion of the middle class, Indians are becoming more and more fashion conscious. They want to look good and do not mind spending some extra money for this.

I keep in touch with the latest trends in the fashion scene through magazines Fashion TV and Internet. Whatever the fashion, basically, the clothes should be wearable. They should suit one’s personality.

I think I have taken the right decision and plan to make my career a success.

SAS Nagar, November 14
Hundreds of schoolchildren from three institutions had a gala time as they were taken to an amusement park, near here, as part of the children festival which started today.

The Thunder Zone Amusement and Water Park was abuzz with activity as students were seen enjoying different joy rides in the park. The hot favourites of the students, were Crazy Cars, Caterpillar, Mono Junction and Colombus. The children could be seen standing in long queues waiting for their turn.

Mr Som Nath Bhatia, in charge of the children’s festival, which had been organised under the programme Tribune-in- Education (TiE), said more than 700 students from St Stephen’s School, Chandigarh, Sunbeam Public School, Mauli Jagran, and Chandigarh Baptist School had been brought to the amusement park for a picnic.

All students were subscribers of The Tribune. The Tribune Trust also provided drinks and snacks to the students.

Parveen Kapil, a class VIII student of Sunbeam Public School, whose father is a small shopkeeper in Mauli Jagran village said he had seen the amusement park only from outside though he had always wished to come and enjoy here. “It is like a heaven on earth for children.”

Another class III student of the same school, Puja, whose father worked as a mason, said she had taken a number of rides, but enjoyed the most in Swing Chairs.

However, Sumir, a class II student of St. Stephens School, said Crazy Cars were his favourite.

Mr Bhatia said all school students in SAS Nagar, Chandigarh and Panchkula, who were subscribers of the Tribune, would be taken to the amusement park as part of the week long festival for children.

Chandigarh, November 14
The Sector 22 Market Association today declared the results of the lucky draw scheme organised to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the city. About 2.25 lakh customers from the city and surrounding towns participated in the festival sales organised to offer gifts.

Bharti Sood of Sector 47 A won the Maruti Esteem, and three prizes of Maruti 800 were won by Laxmi Devi, Sushila Devi and Aseem of Sector 20 A Chandigarh, Sector 4, Panchkula and Sector 20, Panchkula respectively.

Chandigarh, November 14
A popular actress of the 60s and former chairperson of the Indian Film Censor Board Asha Parekh will be the chief guest of Rafi Nite, to be organised by the Yaadgar-e-Rafi Society on November 29, at Tagore Theatre here.

Asha Parekh, who started her career with film ‘Dil Deke Dekho’ in 1959, has acted in more than 100 films.

The society had received more than 500 applications, including those by children, in the month of May this year for these awards.

After three successful pre-final rounds in June and July the society selected four male and three female singers in the senior categories and three male and four female children in the junior category. In the senior category, the first male and first female winner will receive the Rafi Awards-2003, while the singers placed second and third will get runners-up trophies. In the junior category, the first male and first female singers will get the best singer award, while those placed second and third will receive runners-up trophies.

Last year the awards were given away by popular music-director
Pyarelal.

Chandigarh, November 14
Pracheen Kala Kendra, in collaboration with the Department of Public Relations and Cultural Affairs, UT Administration, today organised a kathak recital by Anuradha Arora at Tagore Theatre, Chandigarh. Bright and sprightly, Anuradha has been devoted to the dance form for over a decade now.

Expressing the nuances of Jaipur kathak gharana, which she has imbibed from her guru Shobha Koser, Anuradha began her presentation with an invocatory item, paying tributes to Goddess Saraswati. It was followed by kathak in which the dancer exhibited aamad, thaat, uthaan, tode, tukre and other technical parts of the dance form. She then danced on a Meera bhajan, followed by a lyrical presentation of an episode from the Ramayana. “Solah Singaar” was the concluding presentation of the evening, which also saw Dr Braj Ballabh Mishra, an eminent scholar, being conferred with the title of Natya Ratna.